Mammals
1About 12 mammal species live in Mt Parnon. The localwild mammals are mainly nocturnal, small or medium in size and often pass unnoticed. There are beech martens (Martes foina), European common weasels (Mustela nivalis), foxes (Vulpes vulpes hellenica), hares (Lepus europaeus), bats, various rodents, jackals (Canis aureus) being under threat of extinction, as well as mischievous badgers (Meles Meles) which have made their burrows on Mt Parnon and trouble farmers with their presence.
Birds, bird fauna
Mt Parnon is home to an impressive variety of species and subspecies. There are 217 different bird species;some of them just make a stop to rest at Mt Parnon, some others are migratory and come here only in summer or winter, and others live on this mountain permanently. 53 out of 217 species are protected or under threat of extinction. Although passeriformes mainly live in forests, various bird species grow in semimountainous woodlands, namely at an altitude of about 600-800 m. Despite the fact that several villages are located at such regions, running waters, good climatic conditions and fields with vegetables or fruit-bearing trees form the ideal environment for the development of those species. Hilly regions, from sea level till an altitude of about 600 m, are poorer in bird fauna. But in comparison with the rest of Greece, the number of local species is high.
Passeriformes: Most bird fauna species living in Mt Parnon belong to this class which includes birds, such as swallows, sparrows, hooded crows (Corvus corone Cornix), song thrushes (Turdus philomelos), common blackbirds (Turdus merula), coal tits (Parus alter), nuthatches (Sittidae Europae) etc. They mainly prefer the coniferous zones of the forests of Mt Parnon where climate is comparatively milder than in the corresponding zones of the rest of Greece. It is amazing that these birds do not only live in mountain regions but they also choose the entire mountain
Water fowls and aquatic birds: they mainly gather at the wetland of Moustos and at the smaller neighbouring wetlands, where they find food and good climatic conditions. They take a rest here before continuing their long travel. Moreover, there are some species nestling in the wetlands. The wetlands of Mt Parnon offer water fowls and aquatic birds a wide range of habitats, such as riparian lakes, canals, salt marshes, reed brakes and mudflats.
Reptiles and amphibians
Over 26 reptile and amphibian species have been recorded on Mt Parnon. Two of them are indigenous to Peloponnese and two others are endemic to Greece. Generally speaking, Mt Parnon is home to two of the three land tortoise species which are indigenous to Greece. There are also lizards and 7 snake species, including Balkans snakes (Coluber gemonensis), adders (Vipera ammodytes), leopard snakes (Elaphe situla), dice snakes (Natrix Tesselata), smooth snakes (Coronella austriaca), four-lined snakes (Elaphe quatorlineata) and the species Malpolon monspessulanus.
Frogs: You can see the biggest Greek toad that is the common toad (Bufo bufo), the European green Toad (Bufo viridis) which is like a camouflage uniform, the common tree frog (Hyla arborea), the marsh frog (Rana ridibunda), the brown frog Rana graeca living in mountain streams and the agile brown frog or Rana dalmatina which prefers wet zones and impresses with its big jumps.
Insects and other invertebrate species
Only 21 species have been recorded in Mt Parnon. The study of these species is extremely difficult and time-consuming, since most of these organisms are difficult to detect and collect. Some of these species are: Zerynthia Polyxena growing at the bush areas of lower altitudes, Pieris Ergane, Pieris Krueperi, armadillidium kalamatense, armadillidium tripolitzense, Platycleis parnon, Poecilimon tesselatus, Anthocharis gruneri, Euphorbia etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment